Euractiv.com

On Tuesday (26 March), the European Parliament largely backed a detailed report on financial crimes and tax avoidance in the EU. The text set a clear roadmap to tackle those issues. However, the plan is far from likely to be implemented.

After European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ignored their previous calls, MEPs called on Tuesday (26 March) on the next Commission to review the controversial appointment of Martin Selmayr as secretary-general of the EU executive.

Western Balkan countries, which have set their sights on EU membership, are still propping up coal power with large public subsidies worth more than €1.2 billion, a new report revealed on Monday (25 March). The subsidies are not in line with EU regulations or decarbonisation efforts.

The evidence is clear: to secure a thriving future for people and planet we need to collectively transform our eating patterns towards healthier, more plant-rich diets. The EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) can facilitate this transition. But several misunderstandings hinder progress.  

If the British parliament does not represent those who want to remain in the EU, the European Parliament should, European Council president Donald Tusk told EU lawmakers on Wednesday (27 March) in Strasbourg. 

Safety and gender equality cement Azerbaijan’s place as the shining example of a modern Muslim democracy, writes Vadim Gusman.

Food producers are also entrepreneurs. Accessing financing, in particular in the start-up phase of projects is often a hurdle they have to overcome.

Greece was the first southeast European country that joined the EU (then EEC) in 1981, and the poorest one to have joined by then. While the European Commission suggested a ten-year pre-accession period at the time, other Member States overruled it for geopolitical reasons.

The future of Europe depends on its cities. They are the place where the fight against climate change becomes real, where technological innovation can help boost the digital transformation, and where equal and inclusive societies are made.

Despite the volatility that would trigger the UK’s departure from the EU, Brexit does not represent an “imminent risk” to financial stability, according to Single Resolution Board President Elke König.

The Trump administration on Tuesday (26 March) expanded its anti-abortion policies, cutting funding to the Organization of American States (OAS) and prohibiting the use of US tax dollars to lobby for or against abortion rights.

With no majority in the UK Parliament for a third vote on the withdrawal agreement, EU lawmakers have called on British MPs to back an alternative Brexit plan or leave without a deal. 

Europe’s electricity and gas operators are currently working on a joint network plan based on a carbon budget which includes zero-emission scenarios for 2050. “And that automatically means there will be no fossil gas in the mix by then,” Jan Ingwersen told EURACTIV in an interview.

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Greece's former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, now standing as a leftist candidate for the European Commission presidency, told the EU on Tuesday (26 March) to stop blaming China for an unbalanced economic relationship because the playing field "was never levelled in Europe".

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis accused the country’s socialist government on Tuesday (26 March) of failing to inform citizens about tobacco-related risks and ignoring prevention as a tool against smoking. EURACTIV.com reports from Bucharest.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will address her Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday (27 March), possibly to set out a timetable for her departure in a last throw of the dice to win support for her twice-rejected Brexit deal in parliament.

The 'new plant breeding techniques' need new EU legislation that takes into account the latest advanced technologies, EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis told EURACTIV.com, adding there was too much manipulation and "scare-mongering" around the issue.

The common expectations of Europeans are actually far from the divisions fuelled by politicians. This was highlighted by the WeEuropeans initiative, which managed to mobilise 2 million people and generate 30,000 proposals. EURACTIV France reports.

People are often confused by the multiple definitions of refrigeration, published in different sources, which are mutually overlapping but never identical. Some order is also needed at EU level, writes Kostadin Fikiin.